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Laura McGrath and the Cultivar team design, install and care for residential gardens that entice people out of doors. Our style is elegant and naturalistic. Our projects range in scale from intimate urban spaces to properties with swaths of woodland and lawn. We invite you to take a look at our gardens and the services that we offer.

Laura McGrath

Owner and Principal Designer Laura McGrath has had her hands in the dirt since childhood. While studying for her undergraduate degree in Biology and Environmental Studies at Brown University she took charge of a stunning formal garden when its owner was transferred overseas. Thus began Laura’s career building collaborative relationships and beautiful spaces. In 1995, after honing her eye for design through the Radcliffe Certificate Program in Landscape Design, she founded Cultivar and began designing and building gardens in Cambridge and surrounding communities.

Laura McGrath approaches projects with an ear attuned to the desires of each client and an eye for the relationship between the built environment and a site’s natural beauty.

The Cultivar Team

Each member of the Cultivar team is an experienced professional gardener. With training at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, the Arnold Arboretum, and the Landscape Institute our crew members are knowledgeable about pruning, plant health, and garden design. Some of their passions include wild edibles, Boston’s community gardens, and therapeutic gardening.

Matthew Cianci

Matthew Cianci has gardened professionally for over ten years. He holds a master’s degree in studio art and the off season works as a private chef. He comes from a long line of serious gardeners, and nurtures an orchard of rare and special apples begun by his grandfather.

Sarah Robbins

Sarah Robbins is a trained horticulturist with many years of professional gardening experience. She has a keen eye for detail, and x-ray vision when it comes to spotting weeds. Sarah has a degree in Architecture and appreciates working on the historic properties in Cultivar’s care.

Mark Raczynski

Mark joined Cultivar this spring after graduating with a degree in Horticulture from Temple and completing an internship at Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum. Mark spends weekends learning the arborists’ art of tree climbing, working toward his arborist certification.

Valerie Leung

Valerie holds a degree in Biology and Ecology from the University of Southern Maine, where she graduated with honors. Before joining Cultivar, Valerie volunteered at Maine’s Viles Arboretum where she developed a plant nursery and assisted with brush clearing and maintenance projects. Valerie has a strong interest in both residential gardens and public horticulture.

Charlotte Gesten

Charlotte Gesten is the reason you are able to learn about us and look at our work. She is a talented graphic designer and wizard of web site construction. Charlotte built Cultivar’s web site and made us other useful perches in the e-universe. She has taken us far. Charlotte can be reached at: charlotteswebdesign.biz

Gardens are not made by singing ‘Oh, how beautiful,’ and sitting in the shade.
– Rudyard Kipling

The day is coming when a single original carrot will give birth to a revolution.
- Paul Cezanne